«Un campesino sin tierra es como un pez sin agua»: A farmer without land is like a fish without water. Les Voy a Contar la Historia is a sonorous and audiovisual compilation of the historical memory of the farmer community of Las Pavas, Colombia - sung and told by its main characters.

Displacement and dispossession have not only violated the right to life of millions of people in Colombia, but also other fundamental rights such as the right to nutrition, work, cultural expression, freedom of movement, health and education. The farmer families of Las Pavas, a community located in the South of the Bolivar Department have been displaced three times during the last decade. On the land they used to cultivate, a huge agroindustrial project of palm oil is being developed. On the 4th of April 2011, the familes returned for the third time to Las Pavas. Since then, under constant pressure and threats, they have been planting their food crops again. Standing in peacefully for their rights, they are waiting for the goverment to return them the titles of their land, expropiating them from the company holding them today. In their pacific struggle for the land, men and women from Las Pavas use music as a peaceful means of resistance, sharing their experiences through songs. Thus, they keep their cultural tradition alive and immortalise their stories in a way no other person could ever write or tell them.

The songs are about the history of the community of Las Pavas. Singing, the farmers compare life before and after the arrival of the oil palm company in the region. The singers complain about the violent displacements they have gone through and the damage caused by the oil palm. Moreover, they sing about their experiences with pacific resistance and about what it means to be a farmer.

Historia de mi vida
by Orlando Ospino. This song talks about how important it is for a farmer to have a piece of land to cultivate his own food – and about how his own life has changed after having been displaced from Las Pavas.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Campesino de verdad
By Edwin Torres «El monchi Pavero». This is a song about the singer’s pride of being a farmer of Buenos Aires, the village where he has been living ever since his birth.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Una voz en la montaña
By Edwin Torres «El monchi Pavero». In this song, Monchi sings about himself as a singer who sings for his own people – and about their right to defend their own land and dignity.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Regula has been working in various areas of peacebuilding for the last 10 years. She studied political science, literature, international public law and later added studies in cultural management. For the last 4 years, she has worked as a pedagogue in intercultural exchange projects. 2 years ago, she accompanied the farmers on their return to Las Pavas as a human rights observer with Peacewatch. Next to her work as a pedagogue, she currently dedicates herself fully to this project.

Ricardo is a videomaker, photograher and graphic designer. He studied graphic design and visual communication. For the last three years, he has been working with Chasquis in Colombia. Before, he worked as a freelancer in Switzerland. 2 years ago, he documented the farmers’ peaceful return to their lands in Las Pavas.